The Science of Life
by carbontetrachloride
Summary: Sequel to Change of Plans and Bottled Poetry. DL.
1. Oxygen

A/N: sequel to Change of Plans, and reference to Bottled Poetry.

Disclaimer: not mine.

* * *

**Oxygen **

It's amazing how so many organisms can survive on 21 percent atmospheric oxygen. Oxygen is a god sent to everyone. We need it to breathe; we need it to burn a fire on a cold winter night; we need it to remain on our feet. Yet the tricky equilibrium of life never fails to stun us with Mother Nature tipping the scale slightly whenever we wish it to turn the other way.

* * *

She made up her mind when she woke up the next morning_. I am not going to avoid him_. Groaning and tossing the covers off her body, Lindsay sighed heavily. _I am not going to confront him either._ She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and started getting ready for work. _I am just going to pretend nothing happened last night._ Smiling to herself, Lindsay sank into the comfort of denial and locked the door behind her, making her way to the subway station. Surely it was just a friendly gesture? 

Danny, despite wanting to feel like Mr. Suave, found himself slightly nervous. He wasn't sure if Lindsay was going to step into the lab looking hurt and embarrassed, or glad. Something in him hoped she was affected in a good way. This was new to him; developing a crush (a manly crush, he reminded himself) on a co-worker and wanting to pursue her was uncharted territories. What if she hated him because of the night before?

* * *

_Oh God, why is he always here when I come in?_ Lindsay sighed softly when she caught sight of him in the locker room. 

"Hi." He whirled around when she entered and smiled.

_Nothing happened, remember?_ "Uh, hi." She smiled back, cursing herself mentally when her smile came out more as a grimace.

"I'm going to Trace, you?"

"Yeah, me too." _This is awkward._

"Want me to wait for you?"

Lindsay concentrated on spinning the combination of her locker, "Oh, there's no need. I'll catch up with you later." _Yeah, that's it. He doesn't have to be everywhere you are._

He nodded and fled the locker room. When he was out of sight, Lindsay let out a huge breath and blew a strand of hair out of her face. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The tension was great; so great you could cut it with a knife. They had hardly spoken more than two sentences to each other, let alone venture into their usual banter. Test tubes were passed in utter silence, and Lindsay chose the longest route with Danny out of the way to get to wherever she wanted. He ground his teeth in frustration, more because he didn't know how to handle the situation, than because bending over the fiber sample was causing a backache. 

When it was time for lunch, Danny discarded his latex gloves in the bin and followed Lindsay out of the lab. She seemed to be in a hurry to get out.

"Montana." He called out. _Is she angry or upset or happy?_

_You are not avoiding him._ She reminded herself and stopped walking, causing him to bump into her. _Crap!_ Lindsay jumped, literally, and probably would've screamed if she had not caught herself in time.

"Wow, somebody's jumpy today." Danny and Lindsay spun around simultaneously to face a smirking Don Flack, who chuckled, winked and walked away.

"What's his problem?" Danny muttered and turned to face Lindsay. She shrugged, and started moving away again. "Wait!"

Lindsay widened her steps; she **had** to go somewhere, anywhere. _Okay, I am officially avoiding him._ She laughed at herself mentally before slipping into the locker room.

Danny rolled his eyes when Hawkes accosted him three steps to the locker room. "What did you do?"

"What? Nothing!"

"Quick to deny, I see."

He gave Hawkes a stony glare. "See what?"

"Saw Lindsay practically running into the locker room. What? Did you make her cry?"

"No." _Oh crap, did I?_

Hawkes raised an eyebrow and patted Danny's shoulder, "You better talk to her, lover boy."

He growled and rolled his eyes as Hawkes walked away, whistling happily. Pushing the door open, Danny entered the locker room. He saw her pulling her purse out of the locker, pausing to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and slam the locker shut.

"Lindsay."

She jumped at his voice. "Huh, what?"

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She tried her best to be nonchalant, but knew she was failing miserably.

Danny reached both arms out and boxed her against the row of lockers. Lindsay looked at his hands and widened her eyes, as yesterday's events flashed through her mind. The closeness and heat was overwhelming. Any other day she could've handled it, but today was different. Today she just had a desire to run.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asked softly, barely audible.

"Kissing you."

She was hurt. "Oh, well if that's that." Lindsay managed to hide the waver in her voice and ducked under his arm to get away from him. "I need to be elsewhere."

It was only after she left, swinging the door fiercely and slamming it with a resounding bang, did Danny realize the folly in his words. _Shit._ "I didn't mean it that way." He mumbled to no one in particular.

* * *

Lindsay ran out of the building into the sunshine frowning, willing the tears that were prickling in her sockets away. The damn bottle of wine was poisonous. It was no longer wine, but a volatile concoction of butane and methanol. Fully combustible; and lethal when tasted. _Oxidation._ Lindsay shuddered; she could picture a quiet stream of bubbles, darting through the dull colored liquid, a force threatening to shatter glass.

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**_Read & Review._**

A/N: ethanol + O --> ethanoic acid. haha. chemistry. I'll leave you to ponder the meaning. The sleep deprived fool in me was searching for an escape from tasks that needed to be completed.


	2. Water

A/N: Same disclaimers apply. Enjoy!

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**Water **

Lindsay loved weapons. She didn't have violent intentions, nor did she aspire to slay anyone who got in her way, but she just liked trying them out. It was inexplicable – the thrill she got from testing them. Some people go for runs or take it out on punching bags when they were upset, Lindsay much preferred breaking wooden pencils and shredding paper. However, in the lab, she had hardly any spare pencils and couldn't possibly rip her reports apart. The firing range was the first place she found herself after getting back from an extremely quick lunch. Thankful that everyone was still at lunch when she got back, Lindsay pulled on the necessary protective gear and picked up a pistol. Aiming for the bull eye, she squeezed the trigger. As the metal pellet punctured the board, Lindsay let out a huge breath. She returned the gun to its original position, took off the gears and left. She didn't feel much better, but it was something. Entering an empty lab after retrieving her case file, Lindsay shook her head once to clear her thoughts and chewed on a pen, wondering how the victim was killed.

An hour passed and she was in the process of diluting a chemical for a mass spectrometry reading when Danny knocked on the glass door. Nodding curtly to acknowledge his presence, she continued working.

"We need to talk." He breathed.

"There's nothing to talk about." Lindsay screwed the cap of the bottled tightly, with more force than necessary, and walked over to the machine.

There was a brief moment of silence as Danny watched her handle the equipment. The computer next to him beeped and he turned sharply to look at the mass spec report. Lindsay moved near him and pressed a few keys on the keyboard to print the report.

Danny noticed she refused to look at him. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"You should be," she gave a sarcastic snort and ripped the paper out of the printing tray, "you're wasting time which should be well spent solving this case."

He was at a loss of words. Apologizing was never something he was good at.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to check on the autopsy." Lindsay pushed past him, "Hammerback's waiting for me." She felt a twinge of guilt for snapping at him, but quickly justified her actions, reminding herself that he was a jerk. Shaking her head proudly, Lindsay stalked out.

Sighing, Danny headed for the AV resource room to review the surveillance tapes.

* * *

Lindsay listened to Hammerback point out and explain the possible cause of deaths and left the autopsy room much more enlightened about the case. She pursed her lips in annoyance when she realized reluctantly that she had to see Danny, or they would never be done with the case. She searched the lab and found him in the AV room.

Clearing her throat, Lindsay slid the file she was holding across the table to Danny. He looked up and when she arched an eyebrow pointedly, opened the file. "Seven year old OD'd before being strangled." Tapping on the file cover, Danny frowned in Lindsay's direction.

"Yeah," Lindsay took a seat next to him, "Any luck with the videos?"

"We have three suspects." He moved to replay the videos.

She murmured lowly and bent closer to the computer screen, "Hmm-mhm."

Relieved that she was at least speaking to him, Danny remained as calm as he could get and explained who he thought was the most probable murderer.

* * *

After they got the warrant to arrest the perpetrator, both Danny and Lindsay were feeling better. Even though she still didn't feel like talking to him, successfully solving a case with him had removed some of the awkwardness. She wasn't even mad at him anymore; she was more annoyed by herself. In the locker room, she had known Danny didn't mean to hurt her. Yet it had caused something in her to swell in anger. Perhaps the anger was directed at herself for thinking that the kiss meant something, she didn't know. Now that six hours had passed since that little encounter, Lindsay was irritated that she had gotten over emotional over something so trivial. Part of her just wanted to scream in disgust while standing on the top of the roof. Taking a swig of water before leaving the break room to search for him, Lindsay swallowed unhurriedly, the cool fluid washing away the dryness of her mouth. She wasn't in a rush to go anywhere he was.

They were cleaning the mess they had created in the lab processing evidence in silence. Danny had been sneaking glances at the brunette who seemed engrossed in scrubbing stains out of test tubes. He knew better though, she was just avoiding him. He mused with the thought that Lindsay seemed better at avoiding things than he was, and he had always considered himself good at that. Spraying some distilled water on the bench, Danny watched the liquid cling onto the surface of the glass panel. Water retention was always fascinating. Sighing inwardly, he used the sponge in his hand to wipe the puddle away.

Lindsay turned to face Danny. He felt her gaze on him and looked up quizzically.

"Danny," she started and hesitated for two seconds, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" The words left his mouth and he blinked slowly, realizing that these were the exact words that initiated their argument. No, it wasn't an argument. He didn't even know what the hell it was. _Some episode of a Cold War._ Then again, it wasn't a war.

She bit her lip, the familiarity of the lines they had just exchanged not lost on her. "For today. I know you didn't mean any…" she searched for the right word, "harm." Placing the polished test tubes back in the wooden rack, Lindsay took a step closer to the door. "I was being unreasonable." Her face was burning and she hated that. "And I did have fun last night. See you tomorrow."

Lindsay tore off her lab coat and fled. _Thank God shift was over_, she thought to herself and rushed to the locker room. All she wanted to do right now was get back to her apartment, take a nice long shower and fall asleep wishing that the whole day had not happened.

* * *

Danny decided against following her. He reasoned that if he did, Lindsay would only feel trapped, and nothing good was going to come from that. Placing the bottle of distilled water back on the shelf, he let out a long breath. Why were things between the two of them always like a game? They'd move forward one step, and then jump apart the next. It struck him that he had never thought so much about things regarding another woman before. He did mean the things he said last night. If today hadn't gone so badly, he wouldn't have regretted kissing her at all. He did enjoy her company at the diner, watching her smile made him smile too.

Walking out of the sparkling clean lab, Danny concluded that when both of them ignored each other, things could be done to the extreme. He paused when he came to a window. It was raining pretty heavily, sheets of rain falling against the rays of the setting sun. He wondered briefly if Lindsay had an umbrella for her walk to the subway station. Betting that she'd look beautiful walking in the rain, Danny closed his eyes for a moment, picturing her with the dull murmur of rain in the background. He had always loved water. The scent of its simplicity and the gentle caress of it trickling down his skin. Even when the city flooded, water was still beautiful in the destruction it caused. Everything about water was intriguing, the way it held only three small atoms, and the way something so unsophisticated could hold such great power. The power to cleanse, to destroy, and to sustain life. Touching the window pane with his fingertips, Danny relished how the cold contrasted with the heat within him.

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**Read and Review. Any suggestions? Criticisms? **

haha, well. Have a good day, everyone.


	3. Light

A/N: Hmm..this one didn't flow quite as well as I wanted it to, but I can't seem to change it anymore without ruining it. No drama, no hot kisses :P, that will only come some time later.

Disclaimer: Same as before

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**Light **

_Light can be gentle, dangerous, dreamlike, bare, living, dead, misty, clear, hot, dark, violet, springlike, falling, straight, sensual, limited, poisonous, calm and soft.  
-Sven Nykvist_

He looked at her in the morning light and his body ached for hers. She was leaning by the window, one arm folded across her ribs, the other hand holding a warm coffee mug. Lindsay's brows gathered in a small frown when she noticed him staring. Danny didn't saw the movements but never registered that she was looking at him; he was much more enthralled by the way the golden rays bounced off her hair. He watched as she unfolded her arm and moved closer.

"Danny?"

He blinked when he realized she was right in front of him. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" Lindsay reached out to touch his arm, placing her finger tips lightly near his wrist.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

She searched his eyes and suppressed the little hop her heart made when his pupils dilated. Two weeks had passed since Valentine's Day, and each night when she entered her apartment, Lindsay found herself involuntarily stopping at the door to think about the kiss. It was obvious that little connection had affected both of them, and Lindsay didn't know how to handle it. She was still unsure what her feelings were towards Danny.

"You seem to be spacing out a lot, that's all." She spoke quietly, concern taking over her.

He watched her, eyes narrowed in worry, and smiled. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

The corners of her lips tugged slightly as she took in the sincere smile spread across his cheeks. Lindsay didn't know what overtook her, but she squeezed his wrist gently and let her palm trail a second longer than it should have. "See you later."

Nodding slowly, Danny let out a breath when she flashed him a grin before walking out of the break room. He looked at the spot where her hand had rested on and didn't feel any better. All she had done was made him want her more. The events from a fortnight ago still fresh in his memories, Danny bit his lip; he was keeping their working relationship strictly professional only because he didn't want an encore. He collapsed on the couch, brain throbbing from his 16 hours-and-still-counting shift, as well as from controlling the urge to reach out, hold her close and feel her body against his.

* * *

Lindsay was losing some of her cool. If the case didn't unsolve itself in ten minutes, she would have to struggle real hard to stop herself from smashing the test tubes against the floor. She stared at the rim of the beaker lying in front of her, mildly amused that she was actually admiring the reflections of the ceiling lights. "Damn it", she muttered and pushed the Pyrex beaker away.

* * *

"Danny." She called from the doorway of the lab he was in. He whirled around, lab coat swinging behind him, cotton bud in his hand. Lindsay let out a tiny dreamy sigh before she could catch herself. "I think we need to go back to the crime scene."

He nodded and passed the cotton bud to a lab tech, giving brief instructions. After that was done, he stepped forward to meet her, "Yeah, none of the DNA is foreign. All belong to the victim."

"I know, the murderer did a good job cleaning up." She tugged at the sleeve of his lab coat, reminding him that he needed to remove it.

Danny chuckled lowly and did so, hanging it on the rack; he turned back only to find that she was already more than ten feet ahead of him, heading towards the direction of the elevator.

* * *

A glimmer of light caught her eye as she neared the doorway to the kitchen in the victim's house. "Danny," Lindsay whispered, the suspense and thrill running like ants on her skin.

He faced her with a quizzical expression.

"Look." She instructed while placing her trace kit on the ground and opening it, rummaging around for her gloves.

"Where?" Danny felt stupid, but he really couldn't see much in the shadows. He copied her actions and put on his gloves, wondering if whatever it was that she had just seen was pertinent to solving the case.

"Something sparkled." She entered the kitchen cautiously, Danny close behind her. If not for the fact that she had just seen something that could potentially unlock the mystery of the death of the body lying in the lab, Lindsay would've willingly yielded into his warmth. Shaking away the thought, she crouched down where she had seen the shine of gold.

Danny kneeled next to her and looked at the metallic object lying partially under the bottom of the refrigerator. "A key."

She picked it up and flipped it over in her palm. Danny took the key away, pressing it against the floor so he could dust it for prints. In the process, his fingers brushed against the hollow of her palm and left with a tingly sensation coursing through her veins. Lindsay filed the thought away and smiled at him, "I hope the prints will help us."

He bagged the prints and nodded. The headache was still bothering him and he was in no mood to laugh. Lindsay sighed, "Danny, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." _Damn her for being so observant._

"Right, and I believe you." She snatched the bag away from him gently and stood up, looking down at him, "There's no need to act like a tough guy around me, Messer."

Danny got up to his feet and watched her go back to where her trace kit was. _What the hell did she mean?_ No woman had been as confusing as Lindsay was. He joined her to find the door which the lightly tarnished key would open, working silently. She broke the silence as he jammed the key into a room door.

"Talk to me."

The key didn't fit, it was much too small. "We're looking for a smaller keyhole."

"Nice try." She commented, and followed him into another room.

"Just got a headache, alright? I'm sure I'll be fine after I finally get some sleep."

Lindsay caught the defense in his tone and backed off, feeling a twinge of hurt, and directed her flash light towards the corners of the room. It was almost an hour later when they found a concealed door inside a wardrobe. The key fitted perfectly, and unraveled the mystery they were dying to solve. A hidden room with cupboards of hard, cold cash was bound to bring mishap on the hoarder, no matter how innocent they were.

* * *

The return trip to the lab was silent, Lindsay not daring to speak to Danny. She hopped out of the SUV after it pulled into the parking lot, seeking relief in the cool winter air. Danny unlocked the boot and they retrieved their trace kits and evidence. Lindsay cast him a sideway glance just as he turned to face her. Seeing the barrage of questions she was holding back, Danny sighed audibly.

"Don't worry your pretty head about me." He muttered, just loudly enough for her to hear.

She took a good look at him, taking in the faint rings beneath his eyes and slightly chapped lips. His hair was glowing amber in the setting sun. Forcing a smile, Lindsay tipped her head and walked towards the elevator. Something about seeing him with the warm hues of the city in the evening made him seem different. He seemed almost vulnerable. As she left him in the parking lot leaning tiredly against the back of the SUV, Lindsay squinted against the glaring rays and wondered why she wanted him to trust her so badly.

* * *

Light is another feat of nature that one can't really grasp. You can't touch the rainbow which forms after rain; neither can you hold the dazzling spectrum which escapes an illuminated prism. How something so intangible can fill and control our lives is simply a paradox.

_People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.  
-Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

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A/N: Read and Review. Thank you.


	4. Sound

Disclaimer: Same as in previous chapters.

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**Sound **

Danny sat in the ER waiting lounge and sighed heavily to let out the air trapped within his chest. Things had taken a dramatic turn and his head was throbbing with confusion, shock and worry. Leaning back into the stiff chair, Danny's mind went back to the events of the afternoon, a seemingly uneventful day mutated into an ugly mess.

Mac had called them early in the morning, saying there was a scene to process in the shabbier side of town, and since they hadn't worked together on a case for almost three weeks, Danny and Lindsay were to take this case as a team. The three weeks of having little contact with each other offered solitude and cooling down of whatever emotions were hovering between them. The lack of contact didn't stop them from pausing hesitantly in the hallways to look briefly in each other's eyes, a silent hello, whenever their paths crossed.

Working with Lindsay today uncovered the partially buried feelings Danny had conveniently swept under the rug. _Absence does make the heart fonder_, Danny mused as he watched Lindsay move almost gracefully around the messy crime scene from the corner of his eyes. It took much effort for him to concentrate with her around. A little voice whispered in his head. _Maybe if you would just admit your feelings to yourself and her, you would be able to work faster and better._

Danny had a few favorite sounds. At this time of the year, when winter was melting gradually into spring, the rustling of leaves in the wind appealed to him particularly.

"Hey, I got a bullet case, what about you?" Lindsay waved the piece of evidence before him and peered over his shoulder.

It seemed as though he had found a new favorite sound. "Blood and a couple of fingerprints," he replied, letting her crouch next to him to take a closer look.

* * *

Wordlessly, he handed the sheet of paper to Lindsay. She looked at the fingerprint report and turned to face him, nodding, already pulling her lab coat off. It was a quiet understanding they had achieved in a surprisingly short time. "What are we going to say to Mr. Dave Peterson?" She asked, already planning ahead of time.

"Standard stuff," Danny took his lab coat off and hung it on the rack, "See if he even has an alibi."

"Right," she agreed and followed him out of the lab.

* * *

The suspect's apartment stank of booze and reeked of a nasty smell of sin. Lindsay shuddered, a bad feeling in the pit of her belly, when a lanky man with shifty eyes opened the door. Scanning his appearance, she felt even more uncomfortable when she noted a bulge in his jean pocket that looked suspiciously like a gun. She glanced at Danny to see if he had noticed the weapon; he seemed more preoccupied questioning Dave Peterson though. The slime ball spat near her feet behind the threshold of his apartment. Anger sizzled within her, but Lindsay suppressed the urge to slap him and instead, entered the apartment casually. Danny made a low warning growl before following her in, pushing the man 'accidentally' with his shoulders. He continued shooting questions, while looking around the apartment.

Lindsay moved away from the two men towards the window. She watched in the reflection as Danny turned his back against Peterson to survey the surface of a table two feet beside her. There was a smooth zipping sound of something hard sliding against fabric and a metallic glint in the window. Lindsay whipped around and knocked Danny down as a gunshot echoed through the stale air of the apartment.

A string of expletives left Danny's mouth, followed by a thud -- the gun being thrown hurriedly on the floor and footsteps rushing out of the apartment.

"Get him!" She spoke, voice tinted with urgency, and pushed Danny to his feet.

Danny scrambled up and raced after Peterson, whipping out his own gun. He managed to trap Peterson midway through the stairwell, pouncing literally and smashing the smaller man against the wall. There was a deflated 'oof' and a thud as Peterson collapsed to the ground, Danny standing over his momentarily limped body, gun still raised in the air. Peterson had trashed in an attempt to get up when wailing sirens approached the block. _Lindsay must've called for back up._ Danny thought and stepped hard on Peterson's back, bending down to slap handcuffs over his wrists.

His cell phone rang loudly above the loud gasps of air Peterson was sucking in.

"Messer."

It was Flack, asking which part of the building he was in.

"Stairwell," Danny glanced up at the wall to see the floor number, "Level four."

He shared brief eye contact with the defeated man lying on the ground and saw only contempt and the kind of anger that only came with guilt. Flack arrived shortly after to drag Peterson away, but not before patting Danny on the back in congratulation. "Where's Lindsay?"

"Probably still in the apartment," He said and climbed the stairs, taking two steps at a time.

* * *

He found her huddled on the floor where she had fallen. "Did you break something?" When she didn't answer his question, Danny jogged over to her side.

She didn't reply not because she didn't hear him, but rather because she didn't know how to answer the question. When she felt him approach, the first words that left her mouth were, "I need help." Lindsay winced when she heard him gasp. "I already called an ambulance." _Wait, why was she assuring him?_

"What the hell, Lindsay," There was blood soaking up her yellow button up blouse and streaking across her arms, "Let me see."

She nodded, hands trembling too hard to respond even if she wanted to object. Gently, Danny pulled her back against his chest and lifted the hem of her blouse. There it was, the circular entry site of the bullet, pulsing slightly and spewing out crimson fluid. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" He already knew the reason, but he needed to get those words out, just to feel a little less guilty.

"So you would catch him like you already have." Lindsay spat out but clung on tightly to the fabric of his pants, the pain was overwhelming.

"Where is the damn ambulance?" He pulled off his coat and draped it over her; it was terrifying holding a bleeding person trembling in your arms. More scary than being trapped in a panic room with a dead body.

She let out a suppressed whimper in response to his question and sank her head against his chest. In a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain and offer some semblance of comfort, Danny wrapped both arms around her and muttered random words of reassurance. "Danny. I'm going to pass out." She whispered weakly into the nook of his arm. Her head was hurting, as if all the blood was rushing down her neck into her torso only to leak out from the bullet wound. She could hardly hear him; there was a roaring in her ears. It felt as though someone was squeezing her brains out of her skull, "It hurts." Somehow all she could think about as darkness slowly swallowed her vision was the warm and fuzzy feeling of being in Danny's arms. She struggled to hear more of the sweet nothingness he was murmuring but the roaring noise won.

He felt her sag against him and tightened his grip around her, waiting anxiously for the paramedics to arrive. The voice in his head jabbered endlessly. _Shit, shit, shit.

* * *

_

The clicking of high heeled shoes contrasting sharply against the murmur coming from the nurses' station compelled him to raise his head. "Hi, Stella."

The curly haired woman took a seat next to him and draped an arm around his shoulders, "You alright?"

"Will be."

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked gently.

Danny answered her sardonically, "You'd be rich."

A smirk growing on her face, Stella removed her arm and spoke clearly, "Looks like she fell for you, huh?"

"**Nothing exists without music, for the universe itself is said to have been framed by a kind of harmony of sounds, and the heaven itself revolves under the tones of that harmony****"

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**A/N: Read and Review. Thanks! **


	5. Gravity

A/N: Thanks to all you guys who reviewed the last chapter. :) I really appreciated it. This story has moved pretty slowly, the way I intended it to be, so uhh..patience is a virtue.

* * *

**Gravity **

There was soft laughter in the background when Lindsay opened her eyes in the late morning. Stella and Flack turned to face her when she moaned and tried to push herself out of bed.

"Lindsay, stay in bed!" Stella pushed her down gently, the mirth still not completely gone from her voice.

Lindsay sighed tiredly, "Fine, but can I have some water please?" Her throat was parched and it hurt badly, the worst feeling was not the pain but the taste. It tasted as though something had died and decomposed in her mouth. A glass of water was fetched and she gulped it down; anything to get rid of that taste.

Removing the empty glass from her hands, Flack smiled warmly, "You gave us quite a scare."

Nodding sheepishly in agreement, Lindsay chuckled; she had given herself quite a scare too. At first when a burning pain seared through her flesh, she though she had cracked a rib, but when it was possible to discern that blood was gushing out, Lindsay was terrified. She then remembered the two minutes before everything became a blur. "How's Danny?"

Stella and Flack burst into laughter, confusing her deeply. "I beg your pardon?"

They winked at each other, and she at once knew there must have been a joke involving Danny and herself. "He should be here soon. We sent him to get coffee so that he would leave this room for a while." Flack responded, before facing Stella and erupting in laughter again.

* * *

When he entered with a tray of coffee, the first thing he noticed was laughter. Then he looked up, closing the door behind him and realized that Lindsay was awake with an annoyed look on her face. He could've sworn Flack was howling. 

"Your orders," Danny cleared his throat and frowned as the laughter died down.

Stella received her coffee with a smirk, "Alright, we need to head back to the lab. You two have fun." Flack nodded in agreement, before following her out of the door.

Danny watched them leave before turning back to face Lindsay, "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged, scooted over to let him sit on the bed. He nodded and remained silent.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Gravity," he mumbled, but she caught what he said anyway.

She wondered for a brief moment if trauma had knocked Danny's mind off its orbit. "Gravity?"

He refused to meet her eyes. "It makes everything fall, doesn't it?"

"I don't have amnesia, Danny, I know how gravity works."

He smiled sadly and got up, the words were struggling to get out, but he swallowed them in anyway. Cupping her cheek, Danny brushed his thumb lightly over her cheekbone. "Get well soon, Montana."

* * *

Lindsay watched his hurried exit and punched the button at the side of the bed, elevating the backrest to a comfortable height. Letting the heavy sigh in her chest go, she switched on the TV set and pulled the covers over herself. As images flickered across the screen her mind wandered back to the day before. She knew he could be gentlemanly, but the way he held her close showed a tender side of him she had never seen before. It thrilled her for a second, but then she started thinking about how many women he had been with, and how she was probably never going to be one of them. Yet, even if she did get there, Lindsay predicted with a dull ache that it wouldn't end well. How was she going to survive if he dropped her as fast as he had those other women? She admitted to herself the desire growing in her veins, but mused almost immediately that perhaps denial was the sweetest thing on earth. Blissful ignorance had wrapped a warm blanket around her for as long as it had lasted. Too bad all that changed yesterday. 

She was distracted from her depressing thoughts when the doctor came in to check on her. He coolly announced in an emotionless voice that she had fifty-two stitches and the bullet had nicked a small part of her intestines. Luckily for her, or so he thought, her ribs were intact and they had managed to close the wound without any complications. Lindsay watched wearily as he opened her chart and called a nurse to give her more pain medication. As the nurse disinclined her bed and fiddled with the IV drip, Lindsay felt her eyelids droop. Turning to her uninjured side after the nurse left, she clutched the spare pillow on the bed and dozed off, millions of fragmented thoughts swimming before her mind's eye.

* * *

Danny drove back to his apartment for a much deserved hot bath. As he watched the soap bubbles swirl into the drainage pipe, Danny thought about how Lindsay's life almost followed the eddying current down. He didn't want to try to understand how she would rather wait, alone in a stranger's house, bleeding her arteries out, and have him arrest Peterson, than have someone familiar with her during the long wait for the paramedics to arrive. He knew if he was caught in her shoes, he would have wanted her there. He would have wanted to feel her fingers running down his arms in a comforting fashion, or to smell her scent above the coppery tang of blood. That was yesterday, a gasp, sandwiched between the tongue and palette, trying its best to shimmy out; as if it could get to the bright side of things. 

He contemplated having a stiff drink, but decided against it as soon as he opened the fridge. Instead, Danny pulled out an apple and bit into it, the light acid in the juice stinging his throat. Maybe he needed to feel some pain, the past twenty four hours and gone by in a numbing flash. He threw the half-eaten apple into the trashcan and got up on his feet. Forget apples and worldly laws, he had to explain to Lindsay the conflicting feelings within him, and perhaps apologize for the haste departure.

* * *

She was fast asleep when he arrived. Danny sat carefully on the bedside chair, making as little noise as possible. He admired her sleeping form for a while, liking the way her hair curled at its ends, before tearing his eyes off her and gluing them to the TV. 

"Danny?"

At the sound of her voice, Danny abandoned the baseball game he was watching. He poured her a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully.

"Feel any better?" He couldn't control the way his voice dipped lower in concern. She nodded and sat up straight, making a face when the stitches hurt. "I, uh, forgot to return your cell phone." Danny dug into his pant pocket and pulled the little gizmo out, placing it on the bedside table.

"Hey, Danny?"

He gave her a quizzical look in return. Lindsay couldn't help but smirk at the confusion in his eyes, "What was that all about? The gravity thing."

"Oh, I was just thinking about something Stella said."

"And what may that be?" Lindsay arched a brow.

"Nothing, and you obviously feel much better," He pulled the chair closer to where she was. "I never said thank you."

A smile danced across her face. "Yeah, you didn't." Danny moved his face nearer to hers and Lindsay instinctively closed her eyes.

He kissed her temple softly and felt her sigh; the air trembled warmly against his throat, "Thank you."

He stayed a few moments longer, pretending to look through her chart and admire the view from her window. It would be later that evening when she was finally allowed on her feet that Lindsay would realize there was only a garbage dump in sight. When there were no more excuses he could find to trade for extra time, Danny pulled on his coat and moved towards the door.

"Thanks for stopping by, Danny." She called out just before he stepped out of the door, her mind already measuring the vast magnitude of boredom that was to come.

He turned back to look at her, hair falling into her face, eyes wide and glowing. Danny smiled the smile he saved for her, "Y'know, I was wondering if gravity made people fall in love." Stepping out, Danny shut the door behind him. It felt good saying that, even if it could mean nothing at all to her.

**Love is metaphysical gravity

* * *

**

Read and Review. Pleaseandthankyou!


	6. Moments

**Moments **

There are many different definitions of moments. A brief segment of time, a particular period of importance, an essential or constituent element of a complex idea, or the tendency to cause rotation about a turning point. Still, we all agree that every moment is an experience.

* * *

Lindsay was back at work less than a week later, and the words Danny had left her with never really disappeared with time. However, she was good at keeping personal things out of work, and was gladly doing so. As long as she was in the lab, whatever distracting thoughts of Danny were kept strictly at bay, she saved them for those late night moments when she couldn't fall asleep. Stella mischievously noted that Danny was not able to concentrate as well as Lindsay was, and made it her personal mission to play matchmaker.

* * *

She was working a case with Stella that afternoon in the suburbs of New York. When she got to the crime scene, there was a heavy odor of blood hanging in the air. Lindsay held back a choke; she was getting a bad sense of déjà vu, but couldn't quite place the feeling. She trailed behind Stella, surveying the house. It seemed like there was no obvious signs of struggle, everything was neat and in perfect order. She was wondering how the victim would look like when Stella opened a door and the putrid scent hit her like a wave.

Both women gasped involuntarily when they saw the dead body of a woman submerged in a bathtub filled with bloodied water. Their reactions, however, were different. Stella was disgusted and angry; Lindsay just froze and paled.

"Ugh, this is cold blooded murder. Let's process this scene fast. I don't think I can spend more than half an hour inhaling this awful smell." Stella muttered to Lindsay and opened her kit. Lindsay nodded and followed Stella's actions, pulling on her latex gloves.

Lindsay bent over the tub and checked the victim's wrists. There were no typical suicide gashes and she gave a small sigh. The blood though, distracted her. There was a brown crust forming around the inside of the tub, showing the original water level. The woman was dead for at least two days. Lindsay wondered darkly who had found the body aloud.

"Her four year old daughter," Stella answered softly, and observed as Lindsay's eyes clouded for two seconds. The smaller woman blinked deliberately and bent down again, getting back to work.

"Stabbed in the back," Stella murmured as she pushed the body up with Lindsay's help. She nodded silently and pushed the woman's hair out of her face, the marks on her neck evidence of asphyxiation. Lindsay pulled out the camera and snapped a few pictures. She was trying hard to act normally, but it not easy. _Concentrate_, she told herself. But in the end, all she came out with was a morbid mental picture, the dead woman laying still in the tub, pivoting delicately on her hips, her hair flowing behind her. As if she was sitting on the old swing Lindsay used to hear creaking in the Montana wind. Stella noticed the change in demeanor and sped up work, anything to get out of the house faster.

* * *

On the way back to the lab, Stella had tried initiating conversation, but Lindsay wasn't very receptive to the idea. Instead, she feigned that she had a humongous headache and it hurt to talk. As Lindsay purposely stared out of the window, Stella sighed inwardly. She never recalled a crime scene, no matter how gory and sick, affecting Lindsay.

Stella watched as Lindsay walked briskly out of the lab once shift was over. Shrugging, she turned back to the DNA sample she was working on. She was staring at the blue agarose dish when she caught sight of Danny walking by the glass windows. _Might as well_, she thought, _if I am going to hook them up together.

* * *

_

Danny returned his final report to Mac's office and was on his way to the break room when Stella popped her head out of the DNA lab and called for him to stop.

"Hey, are you free now?"

Danny raised an eyebrow, dubious about Stella's intention, but nodded.

"Could you talk to Lindsay? You seem to be the closest person to her in the lab."

"Why? What happened?"

Stella couldn't help giving him a small smile, the concern was just so blatantly apparent. "I don't know. She shut down while we were processing the scene."

That was odd; Lindsay was always enthusiastic about her work. "Where is she?"

"I'm not sure, really. She went off in the direction of the stairs. I need to get back to the sample, Danny."

He nodded and went off in search of the brunette whom he was getting very fond of.

* * *

Lindsay stood at the corner of the roof and looked down at the city beneath her. The New York skyline was breathtaking, in a completely different way from the rustic beauty Montana was in the moonlight. She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself. It hadn't been a good day at all. Processing the scene with Stella today in the hauntingly tragic setting brought back bad memories, ones she thought she had put behind her once she had packed her bags and left for New York. She had almost succeeded in distracting herself from all the memories when the door leading from the stairwell opened. She turned around to see who it was, and quickly turned back to the glittering city lights; annoyed that Danny even knew where she was.

"Montana." He hadn't called her that in a long time.

She refused to look at him; if she did, the tears were going to fall. Lindsay just nodded in acknowledgement and counted the number of cars driving across the highway.

Danny moved across to stand by her side, and when she didn't protest, spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" She asked in return, and turned away from him slightly.

"I asked you first." Saying that he felt juvenile would be an understatement.

Lindsay sighed, "Shift's over. I wanted to think for a while."

He inched closer, "Stella said you weren't acting like yourself today."

She shrugged, "We all have our off days."

Danny placed a firm hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. She looked at him defiantly, but the tears were still welling in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm fine." She grew angry with herself as a tear slid down her cheek. Danny reached to brush it away, but Lindsay stopped him by curling her fingers across his and used the back of her other hand to wipe the dampness away.

The sun had set long ago and the city was alive with lights blinking brightly. In the distance, a car honked. "You're not," he marveled at the smallness of her hand. She was even beautiful sad. "Trust me." He added after a few minutes of silent staring.

She shook her head and started to move away. Lindsay knew she always had a problem with showing her emotions; she was one who bottled it all up and threw the bottle away. And if she got emotional, Lindsay wanted to be alone. Right now she needed to get away from Danny.

Danny frowned and blocked her way, "Why not?"

"I want to be alone, Danny." She muttered, but part of her wanted to feel his arms around her again.

"Why don't you trust me?" He moved closer such that she was looking right into his eyes.

Knowing there was no escape, Lindsay sniffed, "It's not just you, I don't trust anyone with this." Even saying that felt too personal, she wanted to disappear.

He smiled gently and reached for her, "You are such an intensely private person, Lindsay."

"I know," she mumbled against his shoulder, the warmth of his body a good shelter from the cold. She wanted to protest when he pushed her back but before she could say anything, his lips were on hers.

**_It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun._****_ -_****_Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

* * *

_**

A/N: Gotta clarify some stuff. The link to moments (in terms of physics) is very subtle, it's there, but not laid out on the surface. And I'm giving Lindsay more character, I don't care, and don't know what she's supposed to be like on the show. Hopefully, you can see after this chapter that my version of Lindsay in this story is not an open book. She is independent, and stubborn, and backs away when people (in this case, Danny) want her to share her feelings and thoughts about personal issues. And I really should not give her away now, she hates it when people know her too well... stay tuned for the next chapter. :) 

ooh, and don't forget to review. Thanks.


	7. Waves

A/N: I know it's been a while since I last updated. I was busy with school, so here it is now. It was a little rushed, and long, so I might take this chapter down to edit later. I need comments though, so you know what I'm asking for. :) Enjoy, I hope.

* * *

**Waves **

_**Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,  
So do our minutes hasten to their end.  
-William Shakespeare**_

It was gloriously slow with gentleness Lindsay never anticipated from Danny. By the time the kiss ended, she found her hands in his hair and her body arched against his.

"Oh my God," she gasped breathlessly. Never had she let her body react so impulsively before. "What am I doing?" Lindsay disentangled her fingers from his hair and wondered in a whisper.

Danny pulled her closer, "I'm not going to apologize this time." He looked at her. Pieces of hair falling from a messy bun, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. "FYI, you look gorgeous right now."

"Messer..." she warned without a threat, letting her voice slide into its normal volume. Honestly, she was flattered.

He sighed in relief when she didn't make any move to slap him, "Montana," he mimicked, a grin growing on his face. _Damn, she was a good kisser._

"My name is Lindsay," she muttered, her mind going back to her first few days in the lab. Feeling his hands on the small of her back, Lindsay removed his arms from around her gingerly with her fingers. She took a step back. "You know, just because I kinda saved your life doesn't mean you have to kiss me whenever I need comforting."

Danny shrugged nonchalantly, "Who says I'm kissing you because you took a bullet for me?" He watched as Lindsay blushed and roll her eyes. When she turned around to walk away, he spoke, "Where are you going?"

"To parasail down the building and jump into traffic," she laughed, "Back to the lab, duh."

It was an act, and he saw through it.

"By the way, Einstein said gravity cannot be responsible for people falling in love." Lindsay added as an afterthought.

How he knew her well enough to tell was another matter he could ponder on forever. "Well, if you're sure you're feeling better." Danny smiled and followed her through the door and down the stairs.

* * *

The next morning was a beautiful day. The sun was out and shining, the air temperature was just right. Lindsay inhaled a large breath of air, savoring the scent of winter melting into spring before entering the lab. She made her way to the holding room where Stella was waiting and found the older woman flipping through the case file.

"Hey, is your headache gone?" Stella asked pointedly, casting a concerned eye on her.

"Yeah," Lindsay gulped, but her guilt was forgotten once Flack pushed a little girl in and just stopped short of slamming the door behind him.

Stella and Lindsay stared at the child before them. She had long dark hair that hung down to her back, flyaway strands sticking to her face. The child stared back at the two women, eyes wide in confusion, and then she sniffled.

"Hi." Lindsay crouched down, "I'm Lindsay, what's your name?"

Mouth forming in a pout, the child answered in a tiny voice, "Hope."

"Okay, Hope…"

The child interrupted her, "Hopie, please. It's only ever Hope when I've done something wrong."

Stella bit back a chuckle, "Hopie, take a seat."

"Did any one come to your home two days ago, Hopie?" Lindsay asked once the girl was seated on a chair too high for her.

Hopie dangled her legs and frowned, "Some bad man."

"Bad man?"

"He was thiiiisss big and had funny eyes and he made mommy scream." She looked at Lindsay, who nodded, urging her to go on. "Then mommy asked me to stay in my room while they talked. Then I fell asleep." There was a moment of silence as Hopie stared straight into Lindsay's eyes. "They were noisy and I was tired and I slept. When I woke up, I needed to pee and I saw mommy sleeping in the bathtub. Miss Lindsay?"

She nodded encouragingly and plastered a smile on her face, unsure of what the child was going to say next.

"Why was mommy sleeping in the bathtub?" Hopie tilted her head to one side and widened her eyes, batting her lashes innocently.

Instantly, her smile froze and Lindsay chewed on her bottom lip, turning her gaze from Hopie to Stella, who was standing behind the chair. From the look on her face, Stella had no idea how to break the news to the child too. Her mouth forming in a pout, Hopie swung her legs violently to get some attention. Getting up, Lindsay tucked an errant strand of hair behind Hopie's ear, "Uh, I need to talk to Stella," she gestured hesitantly; the child turned around to glance at Stella, "hold on, 'kay?" As Hopie nodded reluctantly and folded her arms across her chest, Lindsay grimaced at the awkwardness of the situation.

* * *

They made their way to a corner of the room, far away from where Hopie was seated, staring at them earnestly. "What do I say?" she sought the older woman's help.

"The truth?" Stella scratched her head and made a face.

"Your mommy was murdered and she wasn't really sleeping. The water was red; that was her blood." Lindsay whispered fiercely and rolled her eyes.

Stella frowned, "Y'know? That might actually work."

Groaning, Lindsay made her way back to Hopie. "Hopie, I need you to tell me everything you saw, okay?" She watched nervously as Hopie's eyes narrowed.

"A bad man came and they were using their outdoor voice. Then mommy was sleeping in the bathtub!" Her voice pitched higher into a whine, "The water was red. Then I tried waking mommy up but she wouldn't. I went to Mrs Henessy's house and then she came in and brought me away. She took me to have ice cream but I wanna see mommy."

Lindsay winced before speaking. "You can't see mommy now, Hopie." _Or anytime soon._

Before she could explain, the child let out a tiny gasp before bawling, "Why?"

She caught sight of Stella slapping her own forehead and glared before turning her attention to Hopie. "Because she's…she's not here anymore." It was such a difficult task and the tears were really getting to her.

"Why?"

_Is that the only question she can ask?_ Lindsay groaned inwardly before grabbing hold of Hopie's shoulders. "The bad man killed her."

The child broke into a series of wails and both women caught each other's eye above her head. Closing her eyes tiredly, Lindsay sighed. Trying to look for a silver lining around the dark cloud, she mused that at least Hopie could throw a temper tantrum and the traumatic event hadn't cost her will to live.

Pulling a tissue out of her back pocket, Stella passed it to Lindsay, who offered it to the girl. Hopie snatched the tissue and sobbed into it. Lindsay blinked. This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

It was half an hour later when the tears stopped falling and Hopie opened her arms for Lindsay to pick her up. She was hesitant at first but when Stella practically shoved Hopie into her arms, she really had no choice. As she felt Hopie snuggle against her, Lindsay briefly entertained the thought of strangling Stella. "I'm hungry." She had to smile when a tiny girlish voice whispered into her ear though.

"Talk to the kid, I'm going to process evidence." Stella smirked and ruffled Hopie's hair.

Lindsay heaved a big sigh, "Fine. I'll take her out for lunch." She was beginning to hate this case a lot. She left the room and, balancing a groggy Hopie on her hips, headed towards the locker room. She was convinced she was a very unlucky person when Danny bumped into her.

"Montana?" He sounded surprised.

"Hi, Danny, meet Hopie. Hopie, meet Danny." She introduced them hurriedly, not caring that Hopie's face was still buried in her shoulder and her arms will still wrapped around her neck. "Hopie's really hungry, so we gotta go." As a smirk grew on Danny's face, Lindsay glared at him before turning back.

She reddened as he laughed. _This was so not funny!_ Lindsay fought back the desire to kick him in the shin and hurried down the corridor.

* * *

They were seated in a McDonald's outlet one street away from the lab. Hopie had asked solemnly for a Happy Meal and Lindsay complied. If she was going to get anything useful out of the child who just found out her mother was murdered, the least she could do was be nice. The meal was eaten mostly in silence, and Lindsay observed as Hopie swirled a fry in the ice cream slowly.

"Sweetie, what are you thinking about?" Lindsay tried breaking the silence.

Hopie never looked up from the mess she had created on the table. "Mommy," She answered simply and popped the fry into her mouth.

"Where's your daddy?"

"I don't know. Mommy said he didn't love us anymore and left."

Lindsay cursed herself for choosing such cheerful topics of conversation. "Did you ever see the bad man before?"

"Sometimes. But it's always real late and Mommy makes sure I go to bed before they go out."

So that was probably a new boyfriend, at least she was going somewhere with this. "What time did he come on Tuesday?"

"The moon was out." Hopie held up her sticky hands and inspected them.

"Was it your bedtime?"

She replied sweetly, "Almost."

As Hopie pushed the half eaten tray of food away and reached for the toy, Lindsay sighed for the umpteenth time in the day. "Is there anyone you like who lives near you?"

"Mrs Hennessy was real nice yesterday. I like Peter, we play hide and seek whenever Mommy's not home."

"How old is Peter?"

"Seven." Her sugar coated fingers were struggling to tear the plastic bag up.

Lindsay took the bag out of Hopie's hand and ripped the plastic up, passing the stuffed toy inside to her. "Are you done eating, Hopie?"

Hopie nodded and hopped out of the red colored plastic chair. Wondering when she had become a mother, Lindsay extended one hand to Hopie and sighed as an oily mixture of sugar, salt, milk and drool ran over her fingers. "Come, let's get you washed up." Shifting her weight restlessly from one leg to the other, Hopie flashed a sad smile. She was missing Mommy very much, and hoped to see her later that night. The four year old hadn't quite grasped the concept of death.

* * *

Like a wave, things had changed. As Lindsay walked down the street with Hopie's hand in hers, she felt sorry for the girl. Hopie, who looked most definitely like a wheedler, was now an orphan. It was hard to explain to a stranger's child that her mother was dead, but Lindsay understood it was even harder for the child to understand that her mother was never coming back. Ever. No matter how many definitions of death Lindsay or anyone else could come up with; that her mother was in a better place with unicorns and old pets, or that she was in a beautiful garden where it never got cold and ugly, Hopie was going to have to deal with the passing of a parent on her own, and probably a few years later, when she was old enough to understand.

Lindsay thought back to the night before. It had been like a crest of a wave, where particles hold still for an extra moment before falling back down. If not for the undeniable tension between Danny and her, it would've been romantic. Lindsay found it hard to erase the vision embedded in her thoughts. Looking down at Hopie, who was clutching the toy tightly in her right fist, Lindsay smiled back when Hopie beamed at her. As Hopie swung her arm in a true childlike manner, Lindsay decided that she would make arrangements that would protect the child from a life without love and security.

* * *

Read and Review! 


	8. Space

A/N: Yay! I finally updated, and am very very exhausted, it's late. The story is drawing to an end, aren't you all glad:P Warning though, this is not the most fantastic chapter ever.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Space **

Is the space we talk about really space? It is always filled with something. The space between you and me is filled with particles, sounds, buildings and trees. Outer space is filled with vacuum and constellations. There is a certain magic in the concept of space. Whether it contained awkward silences, comforting glances and touches, it provides sufficient emptiness such that any little thing holds significance.

* * *

Lindsay led Hopie to the break room and sat with her on the couch. The crying in the morning and walking had tired the four year old enough to make her fall asleep almost immediately. Lindsay took the opportunity to call Stella. She was in the midst of reciting whatever she had found out from Hopie when Danny and Mac entered for cups of coffee.

Mac raised an eyebrow at her when the call ended. "Who's the kid?"

"Victim's daughter," _who is cutting the circulation off my legs._ "Can someone watch her for me? I need to go to the locker room." Lindsay asked.

"Danny will watch her." Mac instructed, "I'm going to do some paperwork."

As Danny choked on coffee, Lindsay lifted Hopie's head gently off her lap and fled, grinning wildly.

* * *

She had thought that it was no harm leaving Hopie with Danny for a few extra minutes and decided to look for Stella. She found her in the trace lab scrutinizing at shoe prints.

"Hey, we need to talk to Mrs Hennessy, and find out more about Hopie's mother's boyfriend. And maybe Hopie's father." Lindsay said.

Stella stood back from the table and sighed. "I know. I already called Mrs Hennessy, who's name is Alice, by the way. And she said she took Hope for ice cream, but it was more for herself when she saw her neighbor floating in a tub of blood. She let Hope spend the night with her."

"We've already established that the bad man Hopie was talking about is the killer. The only problem is I can't get a solid description of his looks out of her. She said that he hardly came before her bedtime, and that her mother would make sure she went to bed before the left or anything." Lindsay leaned against the table, "You know, this case is actually rather straightforward. We just need to ID the guy."

Stella nodded in agreement, "DNA results should be in some time later. Where's the kid?"

"With Danny," she caught the sparkle in Stella's eyes, "she's napping." The growing smirk on Stella's face made her go defensive, "I didn't ask him to baby-sit, Mac made him." Lindsay left the lab in haste, blushing in annoyance.

* * *

She found Danny staring at Hopie with a petulant look on his face. "Very nice, Montana, you've been gone for half an hour. I'm a CSI, not a baby sitter."

She chose to ignore him. "Hopie, it's time to go home." Lindsay brushed the hair out of Hopie's face and picked the child up.

"Am I invisible too?"

"Stop being snarky," Lindsay muttered and sighed when Hopie latched onto her.

"Momma?" A sleep laden voice mumbled.

Lindsay glared at Danny, who had let out a laugh. "No, you're staying at Mrs Hennessy's tonight, sweetie."

"Why?"

"Hopie, you have to stop asking that question."

"Why?" Hopie whined and pressed her face into Lindsay's shoulder. A growl escaped her lips as Danny started chuckling. She felt as though she was taking care of two impossible children. When Flack entered the break room, Lindsay let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, Flack, please take her back. Now."

"Fine, but you owe me. Do you know how many 'why' questions she asked me on the way here?"

"I have a fairly good idea," Lindsay replied, "C'mon, Hopie, go with Mr. Flack."

"Why?" Such a simple but vexing question.

"Don't you want to go home?"

"No." Her grip on Lindsay tightened. Lindsay gave the two men in the room a very pained expression but they both shrugged.

"Technically, she's not going home. She's going to a neighbor's." Danny pointed out.

_Thanks for your help, Captain Obvious. _Lindsay tried a new approach, "Okay, Hopie, I'll carry you down. But you're going to Mrs Hennessy's with Mr. Flack. If you are good, he'll let you play with the sirens. And you can play hide and seek with Peter the whole night." She caught sight of Flack making a face in the corner of her eye and smiled.

* * *

When Hopie's feet were finally on the floor and about to move into the cruiser, she let out a loud cry. The adults stared at her. "Where's my toy!"

Lindsay rolled her eyes and turned back. _Great_, she thought, _now I have to make another trip to the break room to retrieve her crummy McDonald Happy Meal toy._ It was a shock when Danny stopped her and pulled the toy out of his pant pocket. "Danny! Give it back!" Both Flack and Lindsay yelled simultaneously, their tempers short after spending too much time with the kid. After a very disgruntled Hopie snatched the toy out of Danny's hand and climbed into the cruiser next to Flack, Lindsay shut the car door. She did feel very appreciated despite her thorough irritation when Hopie reached for her and smacked her lips against her cheek. Lindsay waved back when Hopie hollered, "Bye, Miss Lindsay!" at the top of her voice out of the cruiser's window.

As they made their way back into the lab, Lindsay smacked Danny's arm and asked, "How old are you, Danny?"

"Older than you, why?" He grinned stupidly, silently wondering where the conversation was headed.

"Why the hell did you have to take her toy?"

Danny laughed, "Hey, she dropped it on the break room floor. Would you much prefer if I hadn't taken it and you'd have to troop upstairs just to retrieve it so she would go home?"

"No," but she refused to lose the battle, "I would have preferred if you had returned it before I even had to think about making that trip."

"As much as I'm enjoying this meaningless banter, love, my shift is over and I want to go home and sleep." Danny said and stepped out of the elevator, waving nonchalantly.

Lindsay gulped in a mixture of anger and nervousness. It was not meaningless, she comforted herself. What was it about the way he called her 'love' that made her tremble inside? Then it struck her, why had he even followed them down to the car park in the first place? She ran a hand over her face, as if to wipe off the silly grin that had taken siege of her body. Why did he have to be so obnoxious and sweet at the same time?

* * *

Stella was reading through the DNA lab report when Lindsay walked through the door. "I found the boyfriend. He's been charged with assault twice in the past year."

Lindsay nodded and collapsed into a chair. "Can we get a warrant?"

"Yeah."

"Anything I can process?"

"Not really," Stella sat in the chair opposite her, "All we have to do is convince this Steven Berger guy to confess. Where's Hopie? Still with Danny?"

"No," Lindsay responded emphatically, "Flack sent her to Alice Hennessy's house."

"How are you, Lindsay?" Stella asked, concerned, but calmly.

This team was close knitted. Sometimes Lindsay enjoyed that tightness, but sometimes, like now, she wished there were wide open spaces instead. She wished that CSIs and little children could stop asking why when she didn't have the answers. Lindsay also wished she could muster the courage to ask why, and get the answer she so desperately wanted to hear.

"I'm fine, just not entirely glad with the way the universe works." She agilely dodged the real issue in question, "I think I should call social services now."

Stella nodded, "You handled Hopie really well." Lindsay smiled, acknowledging the subtle complement, and left the lab.

* * *

Danny walked past Lindsay's locker and couldn't help the way his lips curled into a smile. He tore a piece of paper from his notepad and scribbled a few words. Still sporting a smile almost as wide as the Cheshire cat's from Alice in Wonderland, he slipped the note through the gap of her locker door. He just loved invading her personal space.

Lindsay snapped her cell phone cover shut, content with her effort for the day. The case was more or less solved, Hopie was safe with Mrs Hennessy, and social services was going to find her a good home. She headed home, alone. Despite the cramped insides of the train she was on and the jostles she had received by other passengers, Lindsay, for the first time in days, felt like she had enough power to do something. Something, for someone else. Instead of being pushed and forced down the well crafted canals of Fate. There was no Danny, no Stella, or for that matter Hopie, to ask her for answers she did not have or did not want to share. Lindsay stretched a leg out while seating on the hard plastic chair in the train, apologizing when her foot brushed past a man standing in front of her. She had to smile at the irony. Even though the subway couldn't offer the physical wide open spaces she could find in the vast grasslands of Montana, it offered her solitude.

_**Space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind union of the two will preserve an independent reality.  
- Albert Einstein

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**_

Read and Review. :)

If anyone has suggestions for the big ending that'd be even better.


	9. Cycles

A/N: I don't know if this was the best way to end it, but here it is anyway.

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**Cycles **

_**Most species do their own evolving, making it up as they go along, which is the way Nature intended. And this is all very natural and organic and in tune with mysterious cycles of the cosmos, which believes that there's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fiber and, in some cases, backbone.  
-Terry Pratchett**_

Stella and Lindsay cast depreciative looks at the man seated across them at the interrogation table. They stared at him for a long while, wholesomely disbelieving the cockamamie story he had given. Like hell they would believe he didn't know the victim when they found his skin under her nails. After a long while, Stella broke the silence, "How did we manage to get your DNA from her body, then?"

Lindsay watched as the smug smile on his face collapsed. Hopie was right, he did have funny eyes.

"Maybe you made a mistake." Lindsay disliked the haughty tone his voice had taken.

"Then maybe you wouldn't mind giving us a sample of your DNA, so we could double check." She pulled out the swab from under the desk, "it won't hurt, I promise."

Stella grinned at Lindsay's sarcasm. "So what do you say, Mr. Berger?" She folded her arms across her chest.

The man gave the table a big shove, anger and guilt burning a path through him. Lindsay brought a hand up to stop the table from colliding with her ribs. She arched an eyebrow at him. "Violent tendencies?"

"I don't know Francesca!" He yelled.

"And yet you know her first name." Stella pursed her lips and looked at Lindsay, who gave her a small smirk in return.

The interrogation room fell silent again, Mr. Berger glaring at the two women. It was a matter of minutes before he cracked, raging inside for his stupidity and inability of not covering his tracks better. Lindsay was happy that he had confessed, so that justice could be achieved, but it was his words that made her furious. He killed her just because she wouldn't give him money for gambling and she hadn't agreed to sleep with him. He had been mad that a child should have more importance than him in her life. As he was dragged off in handcuffs, Lindsay called out to him, "Mr. Berger."

He turned back, with a haunted look in his eyes.

"Women are not property. We are not for men to have and own. I hope you realize the inhumanity in robbing Hopie of her mother during your stay in jail." She spoke, softly but clearly. Stella looked at the smaller woman in a mixture of awe and confusion. One day, she was going to have to schedule time to know Lindsay better.

They exited the room, and flashed each other a smile. Another case solved.

"Paperwork?" Stella asked.

Lindsay sighed good-naturedly, "Yeah."

* * *

Lindsay sat at her desk, and pulled out the piece of paper in her pocket. 

**_You looked cute holding the kid and being all pissy at me. _**

She had found it this morning, but Stella had been in the locker room rushing her and she hadn't bothered to read what was on it yet. Now that she had, her tummy did a somersault. Lindsay used her finger to trace the scrawl at the corner of the note. _Danny._

"Argh." She screamed to herself and shook her head to clear the image of his face. Lindsay reached for a pen and switched on the computer. She was not going to let any guy, no matter how mesmerizing he was, affect her performance at work. Determinedly, Lindsay shoved the noted into her jean pocket.

Finishing her report half an hour before shift ended, Lindsay leaned back into the reclining chair and reflected about the case. She remembered the Calvin's cycle. In high school, it had been a bother remembering the number of electrons entering and leaving. There was a lesson learnt though; what goes around comes around. Working as a CSI, she found that there was great truth in that statement. Commit a crime - face the consequences.

* * *

She opened her eyes when there was a knock on the door. 

_Danny. _

"Hey."

Lindsay tilted her head to the side.

"Got my note?"

She dug the crumpled slip of paper out from her jean pocket and couldn't help blushing slightly, her hand trembling just under the effect of his close proximity. He started grinning, looking very much like a five year old on Christmas Day.

"Lost your voice?"

"No." Lindsay gave him an indignant glare. _I just didn't trust myself to speak._

"Good, you had me worried there."

"Why?"

Danny's grin grew. "I don't want to fall sick from kissing you."

"Who ever said you'd be kissing me any time soon?" As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Lindsay felt like banging her head against the top of her desk. She knew these banters with Danny never ended in her favor, it was a vicious cycle. And an addicting one at that.

"Maybe I could change your mind?"

Her heart did a flippity-flop and she already knew what the end result was going to be. "Perhaps."

"Did you read the fine print?"

Giving him a quizzical look, Lindsay straightened the piece of paper. "Fine print?"

"Yeah, at the back." Danny bounced on the balls of his feet and beamed at her.

Flipping over the note, Lindsay blushed furiously.

_**Good for one kiss.**_

"So, what do you say?"

Lindsay sucked in a huge breath. "Why are you doing this?" Finally, the question she had been longing to ask.

The impish look on his face disappeared, but he was still smiling. The smile he saved for her. Lindsay wondered when she had seen that smile before, tiny, sincere, serious and tender. It came back to her after two seconds; she had seen it that day in the hospital, right before he had left. "Why do you think?"

"Danny, I don't want to be…" She trailed off, if she completed the sentence he was going to be hurt deeply.

"What?" He asked, eager to know her impression of him.

"Used."

Her voice was soft but he heard her anyway. Danny felt like he was being kicked in the stomach.

"I'm sorry," She stood up and moved closer to him, "I don't want to believe you're that kind of guy, but everyone seems to be singing the same song." The hurt look in his eyes scared her; had she just lost a friend for nothing? She reached for his hands but drew them back, "Danny, say something."

"What's there to say?" He took a step back and turned, moving swiftly out of the door.

* * *

Swallowing, Lindsay hurriedly sent her report to Mac's email and slammed the case of the laptop shut. _What have I done?_ She couldn't lose him, not like that. So she ran out of the office and into the elevator, barely missing being crushed by the doors. Two lab techs stared at her, wondering what kind of rush she could be in. Lindsay gave them a fake smile and raced out when they reached the foyer. She caught sight of Danny's back disappearing through the doors of the main exit and strode down the hallway, swinging the glass door open and caught his arm. 

It was only then she realized it was pouring heavily, water falling and rolling off her forehead.

"Lindsay." Danny sighed, but made no move to remove his arm from her grip.

"Tell me," she tighten her grip and stepped closer, "Tell me what you want." She just had to know before she did anything silly.

He frowned into her eyes. "I don't want to use you. I want to keep you. I want you to keep me."

She implored him with her eyes to be honest, ignoring the stinging rain water dripping across her eyebrow and through her lashes.

"I mean it Lindsay, I want to take you out, have meals and wonderful times with you. I'm not looking for a one night stand to indulge in after tough cases, not like any of those…things you've heard about me."

Releasing his arm, Lindsay looked up at the sky, "I'm sorry, I should not have let that influence my actions."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "Nothing's changed, Lindsay, you don't have to apologize for listening to the truth." He was right; she did look beautiful in the rain.

"You want to know my take on the situation?" She asked him, looking back at his face and slyly took a step forward; they were almost touching now. She'd never done this before, but New York meant change, and change it was going to be. Surveying the look on his face, Lindsay liked what she saw. She waited for him to nod slowly and the moment he blinked, Lindsay stood on her toes and kissed him. There was a brief hesitation before Danny smiled against her lips and wrapped both arms around her waist.

She pulled away and liking that he had a content lost expression, smiled coyly. "It _has_ changed. And how come I'm only good for one kiss?" She didn't care; caution now belonged to the wind.

"You'll just have to stick around more then," Danny whispered into her ear teasingly.

Lindsay smiled widely and tugged his hand. "Let's go back in."

"Let's go back in, and then out." He chuckled and opened the door for her.

* * *

As they made their way across the foyer, dripping badly and giggling like children, they bumped into Stella, who was holding a stack of paper. 

"What the…"

"Sorry!" They apologized before the cuss word could leave Stella's mouth.

"The two of you had better go change up before Mac sees the mess you're making." She noticed that Danny was grinning like a fool, and the girl beside him looked infinitely happier than she had been the past two days. They waved to her and scurried in the direction of the locker room.

As Lindsay wringed the rainwater out of her blouse before folding it neatly and placing it in a plastic bag, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Danny from the corner of her eyes. He looked happy. She felt happy. Maybe life was a complex cycle, made up of bazillion particles, each one having an implied consequence on the next. Take away one and the effects could be changed irrevocably. It was a delicate equilibrium too, one bad move may instruct a severe mutation, like the DNA in us. Lindsay zipped up her bag and stared at Danny. If he hadn't kissed her on Valentine's Day, if he hadn't needed saving and it hadn't resulted in her taking a bullet for him, if he hadn't been there at all the right and wrong moments to amplify the attraction she had for him. _So many 'if's, _she thought. How was it that she couldn't remember when exactly she had fallen for him?

"Come, Montana, you can continue staring at me later." His voice rolled into her ears, the bemusement clear.

Looks like cocky was going to be his middle name forever, Lindsay rolled her eyes. The optimistic soul within her hoped that tonight would be the start of a new cycle. One much happier, brighter and less lonely. They would think about Mac's reaction later, after the thrill and excitement died off.

**_Life: a cycle. A series of events, meetings, and departures. Friends discovered, others lost, Precious time, wastes away. Big droplet tears are shed for yesterday, but are dried in time for tomorrow, until all that remain are foggy, broken memories of a happy yesteryear.  
-Daniela Gallo

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_**

A/N: Alrighty, the story is now complete! Do review, they're greatly appreciated. And thanks for reading.  



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